Sunday, March 7, 2010

Top Ten Mega Man Robot Masters

To celebrate the release of Mega Man 10 on all console platforms, I'm taking this time to list my favorite robot masters whether they have an intriguing design, fun personality, or entertaining weapon in battle. Join me, will you? As I count down my personal favorite robot masters from all ten original Mega Man games!

10) Commando Man (Mega Man 10)

The first Robot Master on our list comes from Mega Man 10, a game we haven't seen the last from on our countdown. Commando Man leaps into the air, crashing to the ground, dazing anyone foolish enough to not be in the air when he does. His Commando Bomb is powerful, but it uses up a ton of weapon energy to use. His weakness? Nitro Man's Wheel Cutter. Something tells me this won't be the last we hear from Nitro Man on this list! Something I didn't know, Commando Man was one of Search Man's beta names!

9) Metal Man (Mega Man 2)

Metal Man is not only incredible because of his design, but his weapon, the Metal Blade, is one of the most useful weapons in the entire Mega Man series! It can shoot in one of eight directions, it uses little weapon energy, and it can take out a laundry list of enemies quite easily. Taken out easily with the mega buster, Quick Man's weapon, the Quick Boomerang, can also take Metal Man out within seconds.

8) Sword Man (Mega Man 8)

From Mega Man 8, Dr. Wily stole the sword Sword Man possesses from a museum. He can split his legs from his torso and attack with two body parts at once. His main mode of attack is the Flame Sword. It's no big guess then why his weakness is none other than the Water Balloon, given to Mega by Aqua Man. An ancient-looking robot master, Sword Man just oozes with ancient style, and it's why he is one of my favorite robot masters.

7) Nitro Man (Mega Man 10)

Another robot master that can turn into a vehicle, this time a motorbike, Nitro Man races onto the scene in the newly-released Mega Man 10. His weapon is the Metal Man blade-like Wheel Cutters that can not only give Mega the ability to carve into foes and baddies with ease, but it is also useful for riding straight up walls. A former daredevil stunt man, the Roboenza virus caused him to go insane. Only Chill Man's Chill Spike is good enough to be his weakness.

6) Turbo Man (Mega Man 7)

The other robot master on this list that can turn into a vehicle, Turbo Man is one cool-looking dude sporting shades and transforming into a race car. He's so fast that he is a rival to another robot master, Quick Man, as told in Mega Man Battle & Chase. Unable to stand loud noise, Shade Man's Noise Crush is his weakness while Turbo Man's move, the Scorch Wheel is a powerful burner. Turbo Man is the only 16-bit robot master on our list, so big congratulations to him for making this fast-paced list!

5) Yamato Man (Mega Man 6)

Full of feudal flair and modeled after an ancient Samurai, Yamato Man dons a cool spear that he uses to skewer anyone that stands in his way. From Mega Man 6, Yamato Man calls his home inside a giant feudal fortress full of tricks and traps. The Silver Tomahawk, however, can easily take him down earning Mega Man the Yamato Spear weapon. The word "yamato" literally means "ancient Japan". Pretty cool, huh?

4) Skull Man (Mega Man 4)

Who can't resist a robot master modeled after a human skull? Creepy to say the list, and one hell of a goaltender in Mega Man Soccer, Skull Man makes a cameo appearance in the Robot Museum of Mega Man 7 in 16-bit form. His Skull Barrier nullifies damage while sending ghostly apparitions after Mega Man and other enemies. Luckily, he has a weakness-- Dust Man's Dust Crusher!

3) Pharaoh Man (Mega Man 4)

Also appearing as a cameo in Mega Man 7's Robot Museum midpoint stage, Pharaoh Man can sometimes be with or without his purple cape depending on his mood. He's just an awesome, ominous figure whose move the Pharaoh Shot sends out a ball of solar energy to attack opponents. He can be handily defeated though with the Flash Stopper as he'll be helpless to Mega Man's mega buster shots as he's frozen solid.

2) Elec Man (Mega Man)

Short for and pronounced the same as electric, Elec Man is one of the only stages in the original Mega Man that's completely vertical. He fears Cut Man's Rolling Cutter as it can kill him in just a few hits. Thankfully, he isn't helpless. His Thunder Beam can destroy anyone in seconds with its electrifying power. I picked this up from the Mega Man Wiki, that this bot is actually Keiji Inafune's favorite robot master from the original game. Now we can see why!

1) Tengu Man (Mega Man 8)

Just a cool-designed robot all around, Tengu Man is the not-so soft-spoken yet ever cocky at the same time robot master with lines such as "Kid, you're almost not worth the effort" and "Are you worthy of my challenge?" He comes from an underrated Mega Man game, Mega Man 8, and his weakness is the Ice Wave, Frost Man's weapon while his own is Tornado Hold. He was so popular that he returned for a rematch in Mega Man & Bass (SNES, GBA) where he had a new level, new attacks, and a new weakness.

There you have it. My list of my personal favorite Mega Man robot masters! If I could count Mega Man & Bass, I would definitely have to throw in Burner Man onto the list somewhere. What about you? You may not agree with my order or picks, so what are your favorite robot masters? Let everyone know in the comments section!